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Dealer conversion of the 5.3 L to the 5.3 L Flex Fuel E85

13 messages,  Last post on May 12, 2009 at 9:42 PM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Tahoe Limited/Z71, Ethanol, SUV

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#8 of 13 96 Suburban by flip08 Dec 27, 2008 (9:44 am)
I have a Chevy Suburban that needs a new fuel line (and possibly fuel tank) along with a new muffler system. Otherwise its in great shape. I will miss it for it's cargo hauling ability and was about ready to donate it but thought I'd ask and see if anyone has been able to convert a suburban beast into an alternative hybrid of somesort.
#9 of 13 Re: Dealer conversion of the 5/3L to the 5.3L Flex Fuel E85 [arrie] by whitey1940 Apr 19, 2009 (6:52 pm)
Replying to: arrie (Aug 30, 2008 6:58 am) I have a 2006 Suburban 5.3 L but it is not flex fuel. I also spend my winters in Florida and down there regular gas is almost non-existent, everything is "up to 10 % ethanol". Using the ethanol fuel, I found no difference in power or engine operation, however I did lose about 2-3 mpg (Cdn). I would consider trading for a flex fuel because I simply do not know what the results will be after using ethanol fuel for about 7500 km's per year. While here in Ontario I am hoping I can still find regular unleaded fuel without the 10% ethanol. The owners manual states "Do Not Use the Ethanol Fuel", of course I do not have any choice when in the south. I do use Duralube every 20,000 Km's. The vehicle only has 80,000 km's on it and all is absolutely perfect with it, I just wish there was a guru out there that could tell me what kind of damage to expect. I am assuming that an intake manifold gasket would be likely as one of my service people tell they do replace a fair number of them in the 5.3 L Vortex. I notice the price of the 2008 and 2009 used Burbs has increased dramatically over the last few months. Replies to this message: kiawah (Apr 19, 2009 8:59 pm) whitey1940 (May 10, 2009 7:51 am) suburban68 (May 12, 2009 9:42 pm)
#10 of 13 Re: Dealer conversion of the 5/3L to the 5.3L Flex Fuel E85 [whitey1940] by kiawah Apr 19, 2009 (8:59 pm)
Replying to: whitey1940 (Apr 19, 2009 6:52 pm) I think you may be confused.   A regular engine, can run up to 10% ethanol with no problem, which seems to be fairly standard availability.   An E85 flex fuel engine, is made to handle gas that is up to 85% ethanol.   I've only ever seen 1 station in my area that even sells 85% ethanol fuel, and as I understand the mpg is extremely poor.   If your stations have 10% ethanol, that's fine for your current burb. Replies to this message: whitey1940 (May 10, 2009 7:51 am) suburban68 (May 12, 2009 9:42 pm)
#11 of 13 '00 suburban + ethanol = great pleasure by suburban68 May 01, 2009 (10:09 pm)
Hi all. I own a '00 (gmt830) Suburban that has been equipped with an aftermarket E85 kit. Runs fine, more silent at idle, sounds greater at 2500-3500 rpm and more power when running on Ethanol. Kit was installed by the owner before me. Running on Ethanol with this 5.3litre is genius! Olivier (France)
#12 of 13 Re: Dealer conversion of the 5/3L to the 5.3L Flex Fuel E85 [kiawah] by whitey1940 May 10, 2009 (7:51 am)
Replying to: kiawah (Apr 19, 2009 8:59 pm) I thank you so much for that information, as I said I needed a guru and there you were. No need to get excited about trading for a 2009 unless of course my good wife says I should anyway............... Once again thanks for your comeback, it truly is a "peace of mind" to me.   I have not seen any 85% ethanol stations and we have lots of regular unleaded gas outlets here in Ontario.   Have a good day. Replies to this message: suburban68 (May 12, 2009 9:42 pm)
#13 of 13 Re: Dealer conversion of the 5/3L to the 5.3L Flex Fuel E85 [whitey1940] by suburban68 May 12, 2009 (9:42 pm)
Replying to: whitey1940 (May 10, 2009 7:51 am) just a word about consumption and co2 emissions   If regular unleaded gives 100% CO2, 5% ethanol gives 97% CO2, 85% ethanol gives 25% CO2. Cleaner! source: http://www.etha-plus.ch/fr/infos-pratiques/differences-e85-essence5.html   About consumption, no noticeable difference between regular unleaded (I can buy some in the very near Switzerland) and 5% ethanol which is the standard unleaded distributed in France. When you play with 85%, big change. As Ethanol gives a poor burning in the engine (about 20% difference), injection system reacts to obtain stoechiometric mix, to have the best explosion in the cylinder. You then can see consumption change from 20%. My 'burb goes from 16 litres p. 100 km to 19... calculate, that's 20% difference... Regarding prices (and in France it's sooooooooo high), E85 is cheaper than regular unleaded (0.85 Euro vs 1.16 Euro per litre/ 1.16 USD vs 1.59 USD / 1.35 CAD vs 1.84 CAD ). About 20% today, few months ago it was really worthy to run Ethanol because the gap was higher. And remember, you can run up to 10% Ethanol with no mods on the engine. I own an old beast ('92 Ford Explorer, V6, 4.0 litre) than runs a home-mix of 50% unleaded 50% E85. Funny, powerful, cleaner, despite its 314.000 km (about 198.000 mi) Yes, Ethanol can be adapted to most engines Even if no FI system and no CAT, running on Ethanol may require a timing setting, that's all. Don't forget the first car running on Ethanol (in this time, it was called 'alcohol') was a car called Ford Model T...

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